The use of connector assemblies to facilitate data communication between computer subsystems is well known. A typical connector assembly can include a receiver assembly having two female sets of connector receivers, one on either end of a plurality of parallel, insulated conductor lines. Further, the connector assembly includes two receptacles. Each receptacle is normally included as part of a separate computer subsystem, and each includes a plurality of spaced-apart male connector pins (also referred to herein as connectors). The connectors of one receptacle each mate with a corresponding connector receiver on one end of the receiver assembly, while the connector pins of the other receptacle each mate with corresponding connector receiver on the other end of the receiver assembly. Once connected, the connector assembly forms an electrical pathway for data to be transferred from one computer subsystem to another. A detailed description of an example of a connector assembly is provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,928,028 and 5,997,346, issued to Orsley et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,928,028 and 5,997,346 are incorporated herein by this reference.
One type of connector assembly includes a receptacle having 40 connectors, and a receiver assembly having 40 connector receivers on each end of the receiver assembly. This type of connector assembly utilizes the well-established 40-contact Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) or Advanced Technology Attachment Packetized Interface (ATAPI) specification. For example, this type of connector assembly can be used to couple a hard disk drive to a hard disk drive port of a computer system. Over the years, the 40-connector pin/40-connector receiver specification (the 40/40 connector assembly), including the location, dimension and signal assignment of each pin, has become one of the familiar configurations in the computer industry. As used herein, the term “legacy” refers to the standard, conventional components of the 40/40 connector assembly, such as connector pins and connector receivers.
For relatively slow ATA or ATAPI data transfer rates, standard receiver assemblies (i.e., those having signal-bearing conductors disposed immediately adjacent to one another) work adequately. However, when the data transfer rates increase, e.g., to facilitate communication between high performance subsystems or during data bursts between even relatively slow subsystems, inductive cross-talk between adjacent signal-bearing connectors of the connector assembly can degrade the signals thereon. If the inductive cross-talk is excessive, some of the data being transmitted may be corrupted. Additionally, in standard 40/40 connector assemblies, the degraded signals caused by inductive cross-talk can decrease the speed of data transmission.
Ground conductors interspersed between the signal-bearing conductors in the cable can reduce the inductive cross-talk between adjacent signal-bearing conductors. By shielding the signal-bearing conductors from one another, inductive cross-talk is reduced, thereby permitting data communication to take place at a relatively high rate and/or increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the data transmitted.
Conceptually, it may be a relatively simple matter to increase the number of connector pins in a given connector assembly such that every other connector pin is non signal-bearing and grounded, thereby creating an interspersed ground connector assembly. However, the coupling of connector pins with the receiver assembly which may or may not have an equal number of connector receivers has, up to now, presented a backward compatibility problem. This is because, as mentioned earlier, the number, location, dimension, and signal assignment of each connector and each connector receiver typically conforms to a predetermined specification. Because of this widely used specification, any attempt to alter the number of connectors or connector receivers could cause substantial compatibility problems between computer subsystems. For example, a connector assembly having an increased number of typical connector pins would not be compatible with a ribbon cable having the standard 40-receiver configuration. Conversely, a connector assembly having a standard 40-connector array may not be suited to mate with a receiver assembly having an increased number of connector receivers. Stated another way, modification to the connector assembly to decrease inductive cross-talk and/or increase burst transfer rates may result in a lack of backward compatibility, which could adversely affect millions of systems, and can make the transition to an improved connector scheme more difficult.
In light of the above, the need exists to provide an interface between computer subsystems that can facilitate an increased burst transfer rate during data transfer between the subsystems. Another need exists to provide a connector assembly that provides backward compatibility despite having a disparate number of connectors and connector receivers. Still another need exists to provide a disk drive having a conductor array that satisfies these needs and is relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture.